Friday, September 11, 2009

After beating then #7 Otterbein last week, the Calvin women’s soccer team continued its success over top-ten ranked teams with a 3-1 victory over #6 Denison Friday afternoon at Calvin’s Zuidema Field.
Calvin’s victory extended its unbeaten streak to 20 while raising its season record to 5-0.

Despite being outshot 6-4 in the first half, the Knights controlled possession early, creating a plethora of chances for themselves and flooding the Big Red’s box with scoring opportunities.

Calvin drew blood first in the 21st minute with freshman Jillian Honderd scoring her third goal of the young season. Honderd punched a low shot past goalie Courtney Cobb into the left side of the net, assisted by Francesca Smith’s delivery across the goalmouth. But Denison responded just seven minutes later when Jen Clemmer put the Big Red on the board.

The teams entered half-time deadlocked at one, but the tie score wouldn’t remain for too long. After exiting Wednesday’s game with an injury, Emily Ottenhoff punished a shot from the top of the box into the top shelf of the goal, granting Calvin a 2-1 lead.

Ten minutes later, in the 73rd minute, Elaine Schnabel found nylon off of a low, driven Jill Honderd cross. That goal marked Schnabel’s second in two games.

Schnabel said of the game, “It was good to play well as a team, connect some passes, and put the ball in the net. It’s always good to win.”

Knight’s Coach Mark Recker saw noted improvement in his team’s play from Wednesday’s game against Madonna. He saw definite improvement, but acknowledged that though the team clearly has room for improvement, they continue to win games, promising that the team can “really play well.”

“Our movement and anticipation were much better. We took movement ahead of the play and moved the ball efficiently to space,” said Recker.

Recker hopes the team can continue to “play within the framework of their skillset, to continue building and developing.”

The Knights will take the field against Kenyon (Ohio) tomorrow. Crucial games against the University of Chicago, Washington University, and Wheaton loom on Calvin’s schedule.